Sangoire
by Tauria
Summary: Just as his hands were about to close around the fire, another hand (and claw) reached for it at the same time. There was a blinding light, and a raging heat, then everything fell to blackness. / Another what-if story, focusing on the events of Fire of Hate.


**Tauria: **Hello! So, grungekitty and I were talking, and she sent me the definition of the color Sangoire (which can be found right underneath the title). After some brainstorming, this was the idea that was arrived at. While I was thinking of how I wanted to write it, I got to thinking about something from a book I've read in the past (_Thirst _by Christopher Pike). The quite can also be found just below the title, and it is also part of the inspiration for this story. That being said, I hope you enjoy!

**Sprx: **Tauria does not own SRMTHFG! And partial credit for the idea goes to grungekitty!

* * *

**Sangoire**

_Tauria_

Sangoire- _a red so dark and saturated it is almost black_

_"...Krishna began to play the fourth note. This affected my heart; it affected the hearts of all gathered. In the heart are three emotions - I felt them then: love, fear, and hatred. I could see that an individual could only have one of the three at a time. When you were in love you knew no fear or hatred. When you were fearful, there was no possibility of love or hate. And when there was hate, there was only hate."_

* * *

Metallic hands began to close around the unnatural fire. A heat emanated from it, much like a natural fire, but unlike the soothing warmth of a true fire, this emitted a searing hatred, that burnt even metallic hands. The red monkey's instincts screamed at him to leave it be, to find some other way to stop the witch and orange monkey from resurrecting the Skeleton King. However he did not heed their warnings as he normally would. He knew - knew deep in his heart - that this was the only way to stop them. He had to take it, and put it under the protection of the Hyper Force.

He _would _do this... He would. Gibson could not take the Ice Crystal, so Sprx would take the Fire. He would keep the witch and her orange slave from ever bringing Skeleton King back. This was the _only _way.

Just as his hands were about to close around the fire, another hand (and claw) reached for it at the same time. There was a blinding light, and a raging heat, then everything fell to blackness.

**-o-**

A portal opened into the Pit of Doom, where the Skeleton King had fallen. The sorceress could still sense his dark energy here. It tainted the area, giving it a blissful feel to her. Laying the objects she had so far collected in a chest, she turned to the skeletal monkey, who was gasping for air.

"What was that, witch?!" the orange monkey still felt the effects of that place in his bones. It had happened so fast. As soon as they had stepped into that place, a great weakness had settled over him. He had felt himself begin to age - to grow weaker. It had been horrible. And he wanted answers.

"Unfortunately, the Netherworld messed with our life forces. It would have continued till we ran out had we stayed longer," the violet eyed woman replied, a bitter taste on her tongue. She had been _so close _to getting the last piece of the Skeleton King's essence, but she had been defeated by her own frailty. Luckily, there was still a chance. "But do not worry... I sense that we will have an ally who can enter in almost no time at all."

"What do you mean, sorceress?" the monkey spat. He was still sore about what had just happened. _Obviously _the Hyper Force had known, for they had not entered behind them like he had expected. He knew the Guardian would not keep them busy for long. So why couldn't the witch have known? She was supposed to study this type of stuff. She was supposed to _know_ this kind of thing _before _they went into a place... Not after they get there.

"See for yourself," she whispered, holding up the crystal ball-like object she had been gifted with when the dark powers had chosen _her_ to wield them. She treasured it dearly, for it was her third eye. She could keep her eye on everything else going on the world, without ever having to move from one spot.

With a quick glance, the orange monkey's face split into a smirk. "As much as I cannot stand you, witch, this is the best plan you have had yet!" His annoying cackle followed after.

"This is no plan of mine," she growled. "It is what the fates intended... I shall merely... Stir the waters up."

Turning from the demon monkey, she began to chant. It would not hurt to speed things up...

**-o-**

When the red monkey's eyes opened again, Mandarin was gone, and so was the Fire of Hate. He was laying on one of the tables in the Med Lab, with the blue monkey tending to him. Glancing over at his right, he could see Nova sitting on the table beside the one he was one, though she did not appear to be injured.

"Monkey doodle! I almost had it!" he growled, remembering why he was in this state in the first place.

He had been _so _close! He had been mere steps from taking the Fire. He could have done it. If only he had just picked it up faster... If he hadn't tried to calm his instincts he could have that fire in his grasp right now! He was furious with himself. He was furious with Mandarin. He was furious at his teammates for not keeping the orange monkey away from him!

"Now, now Sprx. Calm down. No one faults you for it," Gibson told the seething monkey. "Luckily for you, the fire only singed your fur when it went off like that. Nothing was hurt."

"What made the fire go off like that?" the golden warrior asked the pilot.

"I don't know. Mandarin and I both reached for it, and then... It was too bright, and too hot, and I just... Everything went black." the red monkey shrugged.

"It was probably the close concentration of energies. I've done some research, and from what I can tell, these things contain part of Skeleton King's essence - as we've covered before - and they... They react to people. They can attach themselves, finding particular parts of the person's personality and forcing them to grow. If you _had _been able to grab it by yourself... You'd be with them right now. Helping to restore Skeleton King," Gibson explained softly.

"So you're saying that we can't touch them without turning to the dark side? That's just _great_. Now Skeleton King is going to come back, and nothing we can do will stop it!" the red monkey growled.

"That's where you're wrong, Sprx. The last piece they need is in the Netherworld. _We _can enter because of our cybernetic parts, but if Valina or Mandarin or Chiro were to enter, it would cause their aging to speed up, until their life force is used up."

"...So they can't get the last piece?"

"Not unless they can get help from someone who won't be affected," Gibson nodded.

Sprx sighed in relief. Perhaps not getting the Fire was a good thing then.

"And Sprx?" Nova's voice broke through the silence.

"Yeah Nova?"

"If you _ever _do something like that again, I will pummel you into the ground so hard..." she left the threat hanging.

The red monkey gave her a cocky smile. "Aw, I care about you too Nova!"

She glared, narrowing her pink eyes. Pulling her fist back, a searing pain was felt across his cheek. The red monkey just smiled dumbly, watching the yellow monkey leave.

The blue spectator shook his head. "Why do you aggravate her so?" he began tending to Sprx's new bruise. "And why do you grin like a fool despite the pain you surely must feel?" the blue monkey quizzed the red one. He had never, ever understood the two monkey's antics, and he probably never would. He and Sprx were so different. Sprx was rash, operating on instinct. Gibson was logical, following his head more often than naught.

The red monkey only grinned wider. "Because, Gibson. We've discussed this before. I'm in love - have been since the day I met her."

Gibson just shook his head. The way the two approached this problem was something he would never fathom. But then again, he had never been in love.

**-o-**

A few days later, the five monkeys and their leader touched down onto the surface of a planet to refuel. They had just been in a large battle with Mandarin and Valina (who were trying to find someone to get into the Netherworld for them) and now... Now they needed to refuel so they could get home.

Sprx had been feeling slightly weird lately. Something had stirred within his chest, and he did not like it. It was as if something within him had opened its great maw and was now twisting with his heart in a great tussle. His feelings were changing so suddenly, he did not even know what he felt anymore.

One moment it was negative, and the next it was not. He could only hope that something won within him before he was driven insane.

"Sprx, are you alright? You've been acting strange lately," Antauri noted. He had been acting different since they had found out Valina and Mandarin were trying to raise the Skeleton King from the dead, though the strangeness had only increased after the incident with the Fire of Hate. The silver monkey sensed turmoil within Sprx.

"I'm fine Antauri," Sprx responded, helping Otto fill the Robot up. "I'm just worried that they may find a way to get the last piece of Skeleton King's essence."

"Not as long as we are here to stop them," Antauri smiled at the red monkey.

The red monkey offered a weak smile back at the silver monkey. He hated lying to his team members, especially when they were just trying to help. However, he didn't know _what _was the matter with him truthfully, and he did not want to ask for help without knowing if he could solve the problem himself or not. Sprx was not the kind of monkey to depend on others.

**-o-**

Nova had been keeping an eye on Sprx since the Fire of Hate incident. She was worried about him. Something had been off about him for a while now, and she _knew _the others had noticed. How could they not? Sprx was _much_ quieter than usual – monkey knows he's normally one of the loudest in the Robot.

He seemed to be having an inner battle with himself, and as much as Nova wanted to question him about it, she left it to Antauri. She had not been able to come near Sprx lately without this weird feeling happening in her chest. She was afraid that she knew what was happening, yet she could not face it if she was right. She – the fierce, brave warrior – was afraid. She was afraid of her own emotions, and it scared her.

She bit her lip, as she watched Antauri speak with the red monkey. He had also been worried, and had spoken with her about it. She had claimed she could not speak with him about it because she wasn't good at the comforting kind of thing if that was what he needed, but she had a feeling the psychic monkey had seen right through her.

Sprx just smiled slightly, and waved the monkeys concerns off. Trust Sprx to not trust anyone with his feelings – especially when he had no idea what they were. It was obvious to Nova that he had no idea what was going on with him either.

She was worried about Sprx. He was her teammate. They had become close over the many, many years they had been working together. They had saved one another's tails more times than she could count. Not to mention, they lived within the same structure. They were bound to get to know each other sometime, right? Well, they had. And she cared about him. And she didn't want to see him get hurt.

And she was afraid that whatever was going on with Sprx would end up hurting him or her other teammates. Especially if he didn't confide in them.

**-o-**

"C'mon team. We need a good training session," Chiro implored the monkeys.

The teen leader had decided that it was time for them to start training again. Valina and Mandarin had all but disappeared, and from experience they knew that they would not find them until they wanted to be found – or they were cooking up an evil scheme.

"But we've got plenty of practice from fighting Valina and Mandarin!" Otto protested. He had things around the Robot that needed to be repaired, and personal projects that were calling his name.

Nova frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "Chiro's right. No matter how much practice we've gotten from battling them in the past, we still need to practice more. We have to get to the very best we can be, so that we can stop Valina and Mandarin for good. They need to be thrown in prison so they can stop these blasted schemes to bring back Skeleton King."

The green monkey frowned. He couldn't argue that logic. He shot a sideways glance at Sprx, knowing the red monkey could argue with almost any logic. However, the red monkey was already heading towards the training room.

The others were stunned too, but they quickly covered their surprise to join him.

Nova and Sprx were going against one another – not that anyone was surprised – and both looked intent to win.

Nova tossed a punch towards Sprx's stomach, but Sprx rolled aside, using his momentum to deliver a kick towards the back of her knee.

She jumped aside, doing a flip and heading a kick towards the side of his face. Her foot connected with his cheek, but Sprx wasn't down yet.

He directed a punch towards her shoulder, but she pushed his hand aside, and pinned it behind his back, intending to kick his feet out from under him.

Using his weight, he moved so her grip loosened, and he could slip out of her grip.

They continued to fight, breathing hard and wanting to end this fight quickly, but neither wanted to lose. Sprx felt that weird feeling – so different than the one he was accustomed to around Nova – rise up in his chest again.

He used a more aggressive kick, not holding back like he usually did. It wasn't that he thought she would break; it was because he would _never _forgive himself he hurt her. Nova nimbly dodged; a bit surprised that Sprx was beginning to _really _fight her. She had always encouraged it before, but now it worried her. It was evidence of the change that was beginning to happen to the monkey she so dearly cared about.

Sprx was truly fighting to win now; using dirty tricks that normally he would _never_ resort too. The pilot talked bad, but the red monkey never fought unfairly – unless he had too.

Nova found it harder and harder to keep fighting against him. They had already been fighting much longer than the others (Antauri vs. Chiro; Gibson vs. Otto).

Sprx won using a cheap blow to do so, however, Nova was not too focused on his out of place winning… She was more focused on why he did it. Sprx was not the aggressive type usually – unless his family or life was threatened. So what was going on?

**-o-**

Sprx held his head in his hands. What had come over him in that fight? He was just having a friendly spar, when for some reason something deep within him had to make it into a real fight. Nova had never noticed the difference – only that it was out of place for the red monkey… the others never bothered to hold back, knowing she could handle it.

He felt guilty. He had very nearly broken his vow to never seriously hurt the yellow monkey. He was scared… He was turning into a monster. He had bitten back so many insults; so many things he had wanted to say that would have sounded like something from Mandarin's mouth. He had also sworn that he would never _ever _sink that low either.

This feeling was taking control of him more and more lately. It jumped up randomly, and he would just barely manage to keep from saying whatever insult it wanted him to say. He was beginning to be afraid of himself – of what he might do.

_'What is happening to me?' _

This question circled around and around his mind, over and over again until it was like a mantra. However, this mantra did not serve to calm him, to expel this bad feeling. It only confused him more and more.

The fear in his heart was beginning to dissipate as well, being forced aside for something just as powerful, but even worse. He was trying with all of his might to focus on things that he loved, for he knew that love was one of the strongest things out there. He knew that it would help to banish this feeling.

Yet the more this feeling popped up, the stronger it got. He was afraid – afraid that soon it would over power him completely.

Fear and love overpowered less and less often, as the fight in the training room proved. He knew – knew with blood curdling certainty – that soon this feeling would over power him. He wanted to go to Antauri, but was afraid that nothing could be done about it.

Or worse, that it was like a curse, shuffling through each team member before each and every one of them had turned evil… He did not want to turn from his team. There was still too much he wanted to do. He didn't want the galaxy to fall to the rule of the Skeleton King. He did not want to hurt his family. He did not want to hurt Shuggazoom.

These were all of his worst nightmares, and he was afraid that they would come true. He was afraid that whatever this feeling was – he was beginning to be able to place it, and he knew where it was from, but did not want to admit it to himself – would make all of these nightmares come true.

He was also afraid that if it came down to it, none of the team members would be able to do what was necessary.

**-o-**

Sprx stood on the top of the Robot, deep in thought. Nova walked behind him, not intending to confront him yet. She wanted to spend some time with him though. He was growing distant, and she didn't like it.

"Sprx?"

"Mm?"

"Wanna go get ice cream or something?" she asked him, biting her lip nervously. She hated how she felt around this monkey, but it couldn't be helped. She would work through it though.

"No."

"Want to go to the arcade?"

"No."

"Anything?"

He growled. "_No_."

She frowned. Sprx _never _growled at her. Not even when she was yelling at him… Or threatening him.

"Are you okay, Sprx?"

"I'm _fine_. Now leave me alone."

"But…"

"_Go away_," he snarled.

She jumped. Sprx _never_ talked to her like that. She frowned.

"You're acting just like Mandarin," she snapped, before turning back inside.

He did not dignify her with a response.

_'Who does he think he is?! He has no right to talk to me – or any of us – like that. What is his problem?!' _she was seething, but her concern had only amplified, making it hard for her to stay mad at him.

She could only hope he would tell them soon. She was not ready to confront him. She just couldn't. Especially not if he was going to snap at her like that.

She was afraid she'd hurt him for it, and she was pretty sure that wouldn't help him.

**-o-**

Sprx had been getting more and more snappish as the weeks went on, and Nova was growing more and more concerned. She had finally worked up the nerve to go and talk to him, hoping against hope that she would be able to do what Antauri had not.

She found him on the Robot's shoulder, where they all came to think. Before she could say a word, he did.

"What's happening to me Nova?" he whispered.

His voice was… different.

She ignored that. "What do you mean Sprx?" she reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. He tensed slightly, but then forced himself to relax under her touch.

"Something… something inside of me is pushing all of those good feelings away. Happiness, love, etc. and replacing them with darker ones. Hatred, anger…" the red monkey shook his head. "I don't know what is happening, but I can only guess at the cause."

"The Fire of Hate," she whispered.

"Has to be. That one little touch shouldn't have done this, but it has, and now… Now I'm turning. I'm turning like Mandarin, Nova. I promised myself… I _swore _that I would _never _turn like he did… That I would never sink so low as to fall prey to the dark side. And now… Now it's happening to me. The changes are slow, but they're… They're there."

She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You should talk to Gibson – or Antauri. They'll…They'll be able to help you, right?"

"I hope so… But I'm scared to. What if I go to them for help, and I end up hurting them – hurting them irreparably. I could do it you know. Especially Antauri. I have to be so careful," he licked his lips, mouth dry all of a sudden. He was used to having these feelings around Nova, but now they weren't out of attraction. They were out of nervousness of who he was becoming – of what he could do.

"We can handle it," she said firmly. "Come on… Place a bit more faith in your team, instead of what you're so sure you can do. For all you know, we've got some sort of a precaution against that none of us know about!"

He offered a small smile, allowing the golden monkey to drag him to Antauri.

**-o-**

Antauri and Gibson had been pouring over legends and myths to see if there was some way of purging this evil _before _it turned Sprx. Antauri knew how to fix it _afterwards_, but that did nothing for them.

The rest of the team did their best to help Sprx cope with the new hatred, despite the fact he was pulling farther and farther away from them.

Sprx no longer had control over his emotions. The anger and the hatred had dug deep, finding old grudges to hang on to in order to seed more.

He was angry at Nova for never listening to his confessions.

He was angry at Gibson for many reasons.

He was angry at Otto for letting his feelings get hurt so easy.

He was angry at Chiro for 'interfering' with his life.

He was angry at Antauri for 'trying to control' him.

He was angry at them all for thinking something was wrong with him.

His anger was also digging deeper, and soon it would seed into hate. Something inside of Sprx was trying to fight, but it was losing. Soon, he would join Valina and Mandarin.

Soon, it would be he who helped retrieve the last part of Skeleton King's essence.

**-o-**

"It is almost time, Mandarin," the witch hissed happily, peering into the crystal ball. "The red one will soon be joining us."

"And master will be with us once more," Mandarin smirked.

"Yessssss."

**-o-**

Valina was correct. Sprx would be joining them soon. Sooner than even she believed.

"I have found nothing," Antauri reported. "Not once in all my searching have I found a single thing… I apologize," he told the red monkey.

Sprx sneered – though no one took it personally… or tried not too anyway. "Does it look like I care anymore?"

"Sprx, do try to control yourself," Gibson admonished unthinkingly.

The red monkey did not bother to respond using words. He hissed at the blue monkey.

"Hush Gibson. Sprx is no longer in control of himself. The Fire of Hate will soon possess him entirely, and he will leave us."

"Like I've been dying too since I joined," Sprx said scathingly.

Nova frowned. She was trying her hardest not to take any of this sincerely, but she knew that when they first were told about the team, Sprx had been opposed from the start. She half wondered if this was true, but decided that Sprx would have said something had it been. He complained too much not to have.

Antauri frowned.

"Is there anything we can do…to keep him from going until we can use the Power Primate on him?" Chiro asked the silver monkey.

"We can't lock him up!" Otto said, horror lacing his voice.

"Besides, no matter what we did, he would be able to get out of it. Valina and Mandarin know – I'm sure of it. It's most likely the reason they have been waiting this long." Gibson reported.

Sprx snorted. "Lock me up… Yeah right. You guys don't have the guts too."

A glare was shot his way by multiple hyper force members.

Nova was half tempted to hit him, but she knew she would feel super guilty for doing so. She knew this was not the true Sprx. She knew that this was a cheap imitation created by the Fire of Hate to hurt them. She knew that. And she was afraid that they would lose him like they did Mandarin. That by the time they could catch up to him to turn him good, he would be too far gone for them to be able to.

She didn't want to lose another person she cared about.

Especially someone she _knew _she had feelings for… even if she tried to deny it.

**-o-**

"You have to fight him Nova!" the silver monkey told her. He knew it would kill her to do so, but he knew that Sprx would not want her to stand idly by while he attacked her. He would never forgive himself he hurt her.

"I can't!" she told him. "I can't…" _'I don't want to hurt him…' _

Suddenly, red electricity crackled around the silver monkeys body, and short circuited him.

Nova felt a whimper breach her lips, because she _knew _that she had to fight him, but she couldn't raise her fists against him.

_'Pretend it's training, Nova… He's being his usual aggravating self.' _

She swallowed, and began to fight him. But as she did, she spoke.

"You're better than this Sprx! This isn't what we stood for! This isn't what you want! I know it! You told me!" she felt tears burn her eyes.

He snarled, but did not speak. She hoped she was getting through to him.

"Sprx, we care about you! You need to hear me… You need to come back to us! I don't want to hurt you… None of us do! Sprx…" she swallowed.

She was ready to let the words pass her lips, but this was not how she wanted him to confess! This wasn't how she wanted him to know! She wanted it to be in a better time, when Sprx was himself. When Sprx was smirking. When he was teasing her. When he was flirting.

"Come back to us! You're a part of our family… We miss you Sprx! We need you here. You're our brother!" she tried to get through to him.

He sneered, casting a particularly narrowly dodged lunge.

"You are not this monster that the Fire of Hate has made you! You don't… You don't _really _feel all of these things!" _'Do you?' _

"And how do you know that, Nova? Can you read minds now?" he asked his words dripping with evil. "You have absolutely no idea what's going on in my head. You never have. So don't presume that you know me as well as you think you do."

She growled. "Had you really felt these things S-P-R-X-77, you would have been outta here a long time ago, and don't pretend you wouldn't have been! You think that we know nothing about you, but I have lived with you long enough that I am confident that I know you. I know who you are, Sprx. It's you who has no idea who he is right now, so get that through your thick skull!"

"And why do you even care so much," he spat, as if she had said nothing.

"Why do I-" rage grew within her. "Why do I _care_ so much, _Sparky_? Maybe I _care_ because maybe I actually have _feelings _for you! Maybe I'm _in love with you_!"

Whatever the red monkey had been expecting, it wasn't that.

"W-what?" he whispered, magnets depowering. He was completely and utterly shocked. He had always hoped – no… no he was evil – that Nova would return his feelings. It was a dream come true when she – NO! HE WAS EVIL!

Despite the Fire of Hate's reassurances, Sprx could feel the aura of evil around him shrink. The hatred he had harbored in his heart was gone, replaced with love.

A heart cannot hold hatred and love at the same time. Nor could it hold fear with either of those two.

Despite her intense dislike of this new Sprx, she couldn't deny that he looked good – though he always looked good to her. This appearance – and his old one – suited him. She frowned. She shouldn't feel this way. She should despise this new form with all of her heart. This wasn't Sprx. It wasn't who she loved.

…though it was so attractive at the same time. She sighed mentally.

She noticed that the red monkey's eyes had changed slightly. The pupils weren't as pointed; they had rounded out once more. The others had rebooted Antauri.

"It is time," the silver monkey said.

The other members of the Hyper Force nodded. Focusing their energies on Sprx, and on driving the hate from his body, the air filled with the green light of the Power Primate.

As soon as the light had died down, Sprx blinked.

"W-what happened?" _'Please don't tell me I did what I think I did… This was all a bad dream right?' _he glanced around. _'Ah monkey doodle, it's not… Wait a minute… Then… Nova said she…?' _

Before he could finish his thought, lips pressed to his, and the monkey was in bliss.

* * *

**Tauria: **^.^Well, it didn't go quite how I expected, but it works ^.^ I'm both happy and 'I could have done better' with this ^.^ But, I hope you enjoyed it! (and thank you very much for helping out with the idea, grungekitty! ^.^)

**Sprx: **Please leave a review!


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